In a color photographic material, in general, by color developing the exposed photographic material, the oxidized p-phenylenediamine derivatives and couplers are reacted and images are formed. In this method, colors are reproduced by a subtracting color process, and to reproduce blue, green and red colors, yellow, magenta and cyan color images which are complementary relationship, respectively, are formed.
Color development is achieved by immersing the exposed color photographic material in an alkali aqueous solution containing a p-phenylenediamine derivative (a color developing solution). However, an alkali solution of a p-phenylenediamine derivative is unstable and liable to be deteriorated with the lapse of time. Therefore, no problems arise when a plenty amount of materials are processed and a color developing replenisher is replenished frequently, but when the processing amount of materials is a little and the replenishing amount of a replenisher is a little, the color developing solution cannot endure the long time use and must be replaced. Further, when the processing amount is much, a large volume of a waste color developing solution containing a p-phenylenediamine derivative is discharged. The disposal of the waste color developing solution containing a p-phenylenediamine derivative is troublesome and the disposal of the waste color developing solution discharged in a large amount has been a serious problem.
If a p-phenylenediamine derivative in the color developing solution is excluded from the processing solution, such problems as the deterioration of a color developing solution with the lapse of time and the troublesome disposal of a waste solution can be resolved. However, if a p-phenylenediamine derivative is excluded from a processing solution, coloring (color forming) does not occur as a matter of course. For effecting coloring with an alkali solution from which a p-phenylenediamine derivative is excluded, it is enough for a photographic material to contain a p-phenylenediamine derivative or a compound having the similar function to a p-phenylenediamine derivative. For example, there is a method of incorporating an aromatic primary amine or the precursors thereof in a photographic material. As such aromatic primary amine developing agents and the precursors thereof capable of incorporation, e.g., compounds disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,507,114, 3,764,328, 4,060,418, JP-A-56-6235 and JP-A-58-192031 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application") can be cited. However, as these aromatic primary amines and the precursors thereof are unstable, they have a drawback such that stains are generated during storage of an unprocessed photographic material for a long period of time or during color development. Another effective means is a method of incorporating a stable color-forming reducing agent, e.g., hydrazine compounds disclosed in EP-A-545491, EP-A-565165, JP-A-8-286340, JP-A-8-292529, JP-A-8-297354, JP-A-8-320542 and JP-A-8-292531, or sulfonamidophenols disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,021,240, Research Disclosure, No. 15108 (November, 1976) into a hydrophilic colloid layer. Two types of compounds of a hydrophilic compound and an oil-soluble compound can be cited as these color-forming reducing agents. When a color-forming reducing agent is a hydrophilic compound, an unreacted color-forming reducing agent dissolves out into the processing solution during processing, which becomes the prime cause of fluctuations by processing, and when it is an oil-soluble compound, an oxidation-reduction reaction with silver halide does not occur in processing with an ordinary alkali solution, and a water-soluble or alkali-soluble auxiliary developing agent is necessary to cause an oxidation-reduction reaction. In this case, if an auxiliary developing agent is added to a processing solution, the processing solution is deteriorated with the lapse of time as in the case when a p-phenylenediamine derivative is added to a processing solution, while when it is incorporated into a hydrophilic colloid layer of a photographic material, which causes fluctuations by processing due to the dissolution of the auxiliary developing agent to the processing solution.
Further, various components, such as antihalation dyes, antifoggants, sodium bromide, sodium chloride, etc., dissolve out from the photographic material into the processing solution during processing, which also causes fluctuations by processing.
For the avoidance of fluctuations by processing due to contamination of these materials into a processing solution, it is preferred that the processing solution is used only once (hereinafter sometimes referred to as used-only-once processing). However, when the used-only-once processing comprising immersing a photographic material in a processing solution preserved in a tank is carried out, the disposal of the waste solution discharged in a large amount becomes a serious problem.
For reducing the amount of a processing solution, methods of carrying out slit development are disclosed in JP-A-63-235940, JP-A-64-26855, JP-A-2-118633 and JP-A-2-137843. According to these methods, it is possible to effect the used-only-once processing with a reduced amount of a processing solution, however, to make the amount of the waste solution equal to that in the case where replenishing processing is performed using a tank, the slit width should be several ten micrometers, and it is very difficult to pass a photographic material through such a slit.
As opposed to these methods, there is a processing method of coating a small amount of a coating solution uniformly on the surface of a photographic material. However, even in this method, the coating part of a coating apparatus is gradually contaminated when the coating part and the photographic material is contacted, which also causes fluctuations by processing.
Accordingly, the development of an image forming system exhibiting less fluctuations by processing which can cope with slackened processing has been desired.
A coating apparatus for coating water to a substance by non-contact system is disclosed in JP-A-9-179272. The coating apparatus disclosed in JP-A-9-179272 is used for supplying water to generate alkali from an alkali generator when heat development processing is carried out. This coating apparatus is characterized in that a liquid such as water is coated by jetting from a superfine nozzle. In using this coating apparatus, no problems arise with a liquid such as water which hardly contains a solute but with a solution having dissolved therein a large quantity of solutes, a problem arises such that clogging of a nozzle occurs when solvents have been volatilized. Further, when the amount of the organic compounds contained in the processing solution becomes large, jetting from the nozzle deflects and results in uneven coating. Therefore, if a processing solution is coated using this coating apparatus, the processing solution preferably contains solutes as little as possible.
Under such present conditions, the realization of an image forming system as a total system comprising a photographic material, a processing solution and a processing apparatus which can cope with even slackened processing, causes less fluctuations by processing and generates less waste solution has been desired.